Korean War Prisoner Comes Home After 45 Years

'Old soldiers never die, they just fade away? No, they just seek freedom.'
A 72 year-old Korean War prisoner came home on September 30 after escaping from North Korea where he was detained 45 years.
Veteran sergeant Chang Moo Whan was captured by North Korean soldiers at the Kumwha battle field on the Eastern Front in July 1953, only a few days before the Korean War ended on July 27, 1953.
As a POW (prisoner of war) he was imprisoned in the notorius Aoji Coal Mine, which earned the reputation as the 'Gulag in the North'. He crossed the Tumen River and escaped from North Korea in August this year, and then stayed in an undisclosed third country.
According to the results of a premliminary investigation by the government authorities, it has come to light that he has a wife and children in his hometown Uljin, Kyunhbuk Province.
His home-coming marks the third time a POW has made the long odyssey back to South Korea. Veteran Second Lieutenant Cho Chang Ho arrived in 1994 followed by Yang Sung Yong in 1997.
Government authorities estimate that about 28,000 to 37,000 South Korean soldiers were captured by the communist forces during the Korean War and only around 100 POWs are still alive in the North.